Enrendrum Punnagai - A Pleasant Watch

Bharath Vijayakumar

It has been a while since we had a film that celebrates both friendship and love. Ahmed's Enrendrum Punnagai does exactly that and in fact more.

Plot:

Gowtham(Jiiva) has a troubled childhood once his mother goes astray. He develops a dislike towards women in general and would often been seen in a pensive mood. Things change for the better when he bonds with Sri(Vinay) and Baby(Santhanam) at school. The three though different from each other develop a symbiotic relationship and are together most of the time. They make a pact that they would never marry in life. When circumstances force Vinay and Santhanam to deviate from this, the bonding of the trio breaks and the remaining portion of the film is about Jiiva coming to terms and understanding how is perceived misconceptions about life is so untrue.

Cast:

Each one in the cast of Enrendrum Punnagai(EP) is almost like a piece in a puzzle. They fit in so appropriately that you do not even for a moment think that someone else might have suited better in a particular character. Jiiva is brilliant as the egoistic Gowtham. What looks like a run of the mill role on the surface has fine intricacies that are unraveled as the movie progresses. EP should be one of the better movies in Jiiva's career. Vinay and Santhanam are perfect.The trio's bonding seems impeccable and never looks artificial. Trisha seen after a while on Tamil screen is too good. The eye contact and interactions between Jiiva and Trisha throughout the second half work really well. When heroines are shown as silly and dumb in movie after movie it is refreshing to see a well etched and mature role that has been done justice by the actress. Nasser amazes in an important role that could have easily turned melodramatic. But the veteran shines with his restrained performance. Andrea does well in an almost extended cameo.

Technical Team:

Harris Jayaraj's songs are a winner and a major strength of EP. The number of songs is on the higher side and not many leaving the auditorium for a break is a testimony to their popularity. The BGM is nicely done for the emotional scenes. However the adrenaline rushing score for a brief while in the second half in Europe that would suit an actioner like Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu seems out of place. Madhi's cinematography is so pleasant throughout the film. The feel good factor that you experience while watching EP owes a lot this man's talent. Apart from a couple of abrupt cuts in the second half the movie has a seamless flow.

Director Ahmed scores!

Ahmed's debut venture Vaamanan had some positives. But the movie as a whole did not capture the minds of the audience. With EP he proves that he is an astute filmmaker. EP should work with the urban youth who will connect with the film. Ahmed should be credited because EP is not only a love story. It has bromance that celebrates the buddy bonding of the three friends and also an emotional father-son angle. More often than not the attributes that one should avoid in life are not shown as being possessed by the leading man in mainstream cinema. But EP does exactly that. Jiiva too needs credit for taking up such a character. While it is always love that is shown as something that happens at first sight EP does that cutely for friendship.

Those who give attention to detail importance will obviously note that in an important scene in a hospital the one shown from the outside is different from the one involving the inside premises. The hoardings and signboards give this away. It is nothing that affects the story flow but one that could have been easily avoided. Calling people names to evoke laughter continues in EP too. While we should also see the lighter side of everything it is disheartening to a see how comedy is included in the scene where Santhanam is unable to donate blood as he consumed alcohol. Trivialising issues that can almost save a life is not in good taste. One hopes Ahmed steers clear of these in his future films. There is a scene in which Santhanam says 'sattai' and then points to Vinay's groin obviously implying you know what. When we have unprintable words that are implied indirectly it is absurd to see a harmless word like 'homosexual' being replaced by a beep.

Bottom line:

Backed by a neat star cast Endrendrum Punnagai is a sweet feel good film with a few nice thoughts about relationships. 

Rating: 3.25/5

links : Click here for User Rating